Process of making inlaid linoleum.



PATENTED JAN. 31, 1905.

, H. A. STAEDING. PROCESS OF MAKING INLAID LINOLBUM.

APPLIUATION FILED 11111.22, 1904 3 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

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} WITNESSES: 5%

PATENTBD JAN. 31, 1905.

H. A; STAEDING. mocnss OF MAKING INLAID LINOLBUM.

I APPLICATION FILED JAN. 22, 1904.

A 3 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

. UITHESSB:

. PATENTED JAN. 31, 1905.

H. A. 'STABDING. PROCESS OF MAKING INLAID LINOLEUM.

APPLICATION FILED JAN. 22, 1904.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 3 Ill Pll! INVEIITOR W 4 Q Samm ITTURNEV V I mnvzssss:

Patented January 31, 1905;

PATENT OFFICE.

HUGH A. S TAEDINGfOF CAMDEN, NEW JERSEY.

PROCESS OF MAKING lNL AlD LINOLEUM SPECIFICATION forming part of LettersPatent No. 781,378, dated January 31, 1905. Appiieaticn filed January22,1904. Serial No. 190,201.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, HUGH A. STAEDING, of the city and county of Camdenand State of New J ersey. have invented an Improvement in Processes ofMaking Inlaid Linoleum, of whichthe following is a specification.

One method of making inlaid linoleum as of the com position to cutoutthe tesseree from.

sheets of different colors and assemble and compress them on the jutefoundation. A better compression and consolidation of the granularmaterial can be obtained by passing the sheet of assembled anduncompressed tesserm between calender-rolls; but the rolling action ofsuch rolls pushes back a certain percentage of the granular material andelongates and distorts the pattern.

' It is the object of my invention to produce inlaid linoleum bycompression between calender-rolls without substantial elongation ordistortion of the pattern. This result I accomplish by molding thetesserae in the first instance of such distorted shape and thicknessthat when assembled and rolled out by the calender-rolls to the finaluniform thickness the distortion will be removed and the tesserae willbe rolled out into the exact shape required by the pattern. The properdistortion in the shape and thickness of the tesseree may be obtainedbymolding' the granular material in the first instance in grids'havingmolds of aform corresponding 'withthe distorted form to be produced. Informing multicolored designs suitable templets may be used incombination with the grids to proin kettles by fire-heat, whatgis knownas the Taylor system; but I do not mean to limit my process to anyparticular composition of adhesive granular material.

In the drawings I have shown two forms of apparatus adapted'for carryingout my invention.

Figure 1 is a side elevation of a moldingtable with the calender-rolls.Fig. 2 is a plan View of the table. Fig. 3 is a plan view of a grid formolding the tesserae. Figs. 4 and 5 are respectively longitudinal andtransverse sections on the line A A and B B. Fig. 6 is a plan view of atemplet adapted for use in COIlI18Cl3iO1'l 'Wif/l1 the grid shown inFig. 3.

Fig. 7 is a linoleum pattern produced by the use of the grid. andternplets shown in Figs. 3 and 6 after compression. Fig. 8 is a sideelevation of a molding-table and compressionrolls, illustrating themolding of the tesserae in a cylindrical grid. Fig. 9 is an elevation ofthe cylindrical grid. Figs. 10 and 11 are respectively longitudinal andtransverse sections on the lines C O of Fig. 11 and D D of Fig. 10,respectively. Fig. 12 is a longitudinal section of a form of. templetadapted for use with the grid shown in Figs. 9, 10, and 11. Figs. 13and1a are plan views of-other forms of molding-grids adapted for carryingout my invention, and Figs. 15, 16, 17, and 18 are detail viewsillustrating different forms of the devices for-registering themoldinggrids in proper position on the molding-table.

My process consists in molding the tesserae in the first instance of aform distorted in length, width, and thickness to an extent proportionalto the amount of horizontal displacement of material due to therolling-out 'action of the calender-rolls and with the upper surfaceinclined or pitched to the upper corners, so that the calender-rollswill act to roll out the material by a continuous rolling action to therequired thickness and in so doing will spread out the material to theproper length and width to form the exact shape desired.

In the apparatusiillu'strated in Sheet 1. a is a suitable table overwhich is stretched'a strip of burlap or jute backing b from a roll 0. d

is the molding-grid, having a series of aper tures or open molds e e 0 0formed by longitudinal and transverse partitionsf g. The upper surfaceof the grid in which the molds are located is inclined from the two sideedges toward the center line and from the lower edge toward the top,thus presenting two inclined faces, one on each side of the transversecenterline, each inclining from one lower corner to the center line atthe top. The lower edges of the partitions f and g are in a horizontalplane. The transverse partitions g on each side of the center partitionare slighly inclined toward the center, and the longitudinal partitionsf on each side are also slightly inclined, so as to meet at an angle inthe central partition g, forming a pentagonal outline. With thisconstruction each mold e e e e is of the form of a distorted cube with ahorizontal base plane and an inclined top plane having its apex at theupper inner corner. The edges of the grid-frame are extended laterallyand may be provided with holes h, adapted to receive registering-pins 7&on the table. dis a templet having its under surface complementary tothe upper surface of the grid and provided with a series of aperturesy'corresponding in size and shape to certain molds in the grid,according to the character of the pattern which is to be produced. Inthe drawings I have shown one of the templets adapted for use with thegrid of Fig. 3 for the production of the two-colored cheekered pattern,shown in Fig. 7. In this case the templet is formed with apertures jcorresponding with alternate molds in the grid. The grid and temple-tsare used in the following manner in forming and assembling the tesserae:The grid is first placed upon the table on the centering-pins and overthe backing-strip 6. One templet z' is placed upon the face of the grid,thus leaving alternate molds open, with. the others closed. The granularmaterial of one color-say blaekis then filled into the open molds. Whenthese are filled, the first. templet is removed and a second one isapplied identical with the first, except that its openings 7' registerwith the other set of molds, the first set of filled molds now beingclosed by the templet. The granular material of the other colorsaywhite-is then filled into the open molds, and the grid and templet areremoved and may again be applied in the next adjacent position on thetable to assemble a second series of tesserae. The grids are arrangedtransversely on the table with the lower straight edges formed by themolding-pockets 0 in front. As the burlap or jute backing is movedforward it carries the assembled tesserae between a pair ofcalender-rolls Z: k, arranged at one end of the table and at suflicientdistance apart to compress the granular material to the required uniformthickness. Each body of granular material composed of a set of assembledtesserae by the use of the grid shown in Figs. 3, 4, and 5 to form thepattern shown in Fig. 7 is of pentagonal outline corresponding with thebounding-lines of the outer grid-pockets and has two oppositely-inclinedupper faces inclining from the outer lower corners to the apex at thetop of the center line. As the material passes'to the rolls fi' X thelower portion first meets them, and as the material is compressed eachtessera is reduced to the proper thickness and shape to produce thedesired pattern. This result is due to the fact that each tessera isdistorted in length, width, and thickness to an extent proportional tothe amountof horizontal displacement of material due to the rolling-outaction of the calender-rolls and also has a pitch to the corners, sothat the calender-rolls will act to roll out the material by acontinuous rolling action to the required thickness and in so doing willspread out the material to the proper length and width. To produce therequired distortion on the tesserze in the first instance, it is notnecessary to use a grid having a distorted outline, as shown in Fig. 3,as the same result maybe accomplished, e. with a grid of the charactershown in Fig. 13. in which the molds are all arranged in regular lineswith reference to one another and to the pattern to be produced and thedistortion in the molds is produced by unequal thicknesses in thepartitionwalls, as shown at a, or with a grid of the character shown inFig. 14, in which the molds are all of equal size and undistorted shapeand the distortion in the molded tesserze is produced by theintroduction of filling-pieces, such as o p q r.

In making a continuous linoleum strip with a repeated pattern thetesserze are assembled in the manner described at successive registeredpoints along the backing-strip and are then carried by the strip betweenthe calcuder-rolls and compressed successively into adhesion with thefoundation-strip to form an unbroken compressed surface of granular material.

It is desirable that the means for registering the position of the gridswith reference to the table should be capable of :uljustment to suitvariations in the pattern or in the size of the grids. For this purposethe pins b may be provided with adjustable shanks movable in slots :1:in the table or grid-supports, as shown in Figs. 15 and 16, or the gridsmay be provided with pins or projections tor '1, adapted to adjustablesockets '11. or '11..

The process is not limited to the production of any particular design orto any number of colors. For example, with the gridshown in Fig. 8 adesign of three or more different colors might be obtained by the use ofproper templets and properly-colored granular material and thecolored-squares might be arranged in any relation to produce any desireddesign; nor is the process limited to the production of a design made upofcomponentelements of any particular shape, such as the squares shownin Fig 7. Any forms may be produced by shaping the molding-pockets inthe grid to produce dissuitable backing to'a uniform thickness sufii-'cient to remove the distortion.

Thedistortion formed in the molded tesserae in the first instance is inthe entire mass of the material. When distorted in length or breadthwith molds of the form shown, the distortion appears in both faces, sothat each distorted body when deposited on the backing-strip does I notcover the entire surface of the space finally occupied by it whencompressed into the finished tessera. With the particular grids shown itwill be noted thatsome of the distorted bodies will contain morematerial than others, from" which it results that when the tesserae arecompressed to a uniform thickness the overplus of material in the bodiesof larger mass is carried into the bodies ofless'mass, while thesurfaces which form the face of the finished product are rolled outunder compression into the exact shape desired,

On Sheet 2 I have shown a cylindrical grid for molding and assemblingthe tesserae on the burlap, in which the general form' of the molds isthe same as that shown in Fig. 3, except that they-are formed in thewalls of a cylinder m, which may be rolled or rotated over thesurface ofthe burlap. The granular material is forced into the molds fronn theinside of the cylinder, and suitable conical templets'n may be used toclose part of the molds to assemble tesserae of different colors in'themanner described, In Fig. 12 the conical templet n is shown formed intwo pieces adapted to be inserted in the grid m from opposite ends. The

cylindrical grid may be driven at a different speed from thecalender-rolls. v

To reduce the amount of elongation of the tesserae when compressed asmuch as possible, and consequently to diminish the amount of distortionrequired,.I prefer to use calenderrolls of different diameters, thediameter of the back roll being equal to the'diameter of eren'ce to the.final shape to be producedsaid distortion being proportional to theamount of horizontal displacement during compression,and then rollingout and compressing said series of tesserae to a uniform thickness toremove the distortion.

2. The herein-described method of making inlaid linoleum, which consistsin first molding a series of tesserae, constituting a complete setcomposing the design, into forms having their faces of shortened lengthto compensate for the amount of horizontal displacement undercompression, and then rolling out and compressing said series oftesserae to a uniform thickness to remove the distortion.

3. The herein-described method of making inlaid linoleum, which consistsin first molding a series of tesserae, constituting a complete setcomposing the design, into forms having their faces of distorted widthto com pensate for the amount of horizontal displacement undercompression, and then rolling out and compressing said series oftesserae to a uniform thickness to remove the distortion.

4. The method of making inlaid linoleum which consists. in molding abody of linoleum composition in the first instance into 'an unequalthickness to compensate for the amount of horizontal displacement undercompression, and then compressing the same to an extent sufficient toremove the distortion.

5. The herein-described method of making inlaid linoleum. which-consistsin first molding a series of tesseree, constituting a completeset'comprising the design, into forms having their faces ofshortened-length and of horizontal displacement under compression,

and then compressing the sameto an extent sufiicient' to produce therequired elongation and remove the distortion in width.

6. The method of making inlaid linoleum, which consists in molding abody of linoleum composition in the first instance into a form ofshortened length and unequal thickness to compensate for the amount ofhorizontal displacement under compression, and then compressing the sameto an extent sufiicient to produce the required elongation and reducethe body to a uniform thickness.

' 7. The method of making inlaid'linoleum, which consists in molding abody of linoleum composition in the first instance with a form ofdistorted width and unequal thickness to compensate for the amount ofhorizontal displacement under compression, and then compressing the sameto a uniform thickness to an extent sufficient to remove the distortionin width.

8. The method of making inlaid linoleum, which consists in molding abody of linoleum compositioninthe first instance into a form ofdistorted width shortened length and unequal thickness to compensate forthe amount of horizontal displacement under compression,

and then compressing the same to a uniform thickness to an extentsufficient to remove the distortion in Width and produce the requiredelongation.

9. The process of making inlaid linoleum, Which consists in molding upona stationary support the series of tesserae, constituting a complete setcomposing the design, into forms having faces of distorted form, andthen rolling out and compressing the entire series in adhesion With asuitable backing to a uniform thickness SUffiCiGIlt to remove thedistortion and produce the desired design.

10. The process of making inlaid linoleum, which consists in molding theseries of tesserae, constituting a complete set composing the design,into bodies having faces of distorted form, the amount of distortion ineach tessera being proportional to the amount of horizontal displacementunder compression, and said tesserae being assembled in proper relativepositions according to the relative degree of distortion to produce thedesired design, and then rolling out the assembled tesserae in ad hesionWith a suitable backing to a uniform thickness sufficient to remove thedistortion.

11. The process of making inlaid linoleum which consists in molding abody of granular material in the first instance into a distorted shapeWith reference to the final shape to be produced and With an upperpitched surface, and then rolling out the same in adhesion with asuitable backing to a uniform thickness to an extent sufficient toremove the distortion.

12. The herein-described method of making inlaid linoleum, whichconsists in first assembling a series of properly-disposed bodies oflinoleum material of relatively distorted shape With reference to oneanother and to the pattern to be produced on a continuous strip ofbacking material and then rolling them out by a continuous operationinto a uniform thickness to an extent suiiicient to remove thedistortion.

13. Theherein-described method of making inlaid linoleum, which consistsin first assembling upon a stationary support a series of sets oftesserze formed of molded bodies of linoleum material, each setcontaining all of the tesserae necessary to form the complete design,and then rolling out said series of sets of assembled tesserae to auniform thickness in adhesion With a backing-strip by a continuousoperation, to form a strip of inlaid linoleuin having a series ofsuccessive patterns.

14. The herein-described method of making inlaid linoleum, whichconsists in first assembling upon a stationary support a series oftesscrae formed of molded bodies of linoleum material having their upperfaces distorted into a geometrical shape different from the shape of thedesign to be prod need, and then rolling out said bodies in adhesionwith a suitable backing to remove the distortion and produce the desiredgeometrical shapes.

In testimony of which invention 1 hereunto set my hand.

HUGH A. Sill \l llllNG.

Witnesses:

ERNEST HOWARD HUNTER, R. M. KELLY.

